Polyolefins, including for example polyethylene and polypropylene, are a well known polymer material for a wide variety of applications. There is also known in the art a wide variety of different catalysts for the polymerisation of olefin monomers. Such catalysts can be metallocene complexes, half-sandwich complexes or any other type of coordination compounds containing a transition metal and at least one multidentate ligand.
Such polyolefin polymerisation catalysts in most instances are used with at least one activator component such as methylalumoxane. The activator components are generally thought to alkylate the catalyst precursor and then to abstract a methyl group from the transition metal thus generating the actual catalyst.
In order to further improve the polymerisation process and also the polymer properties, there have been various attempts in the art to support the catalysts on a support medium. Known support media include carbon black, polymers such as 1,2-polybutadiene, inorganic oxides such as silica (optionally treated with butyl ethyl magnesium or with methylalumoxane (MAO)), Mg(OH)Cl, alumina (AlxOy), salts such as MgCl2, as well as other materials such as various silicates, clays, montmorrilonite, vermiculite, hectorit, mica, smectite, polymers, cyclodextrins, and the like. A detailed review of known support media can be found for example in a review article by Hlatky (Chem. Rev. 2000, 100, 1347-1376).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a universal additive component for use in catalyst compositions for the polymerisation of olefin monomers which overcomes the disadvantages posed by prior art catalyst compositions and the resulting polymers.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a first additive component for use in catalyst compositions for the polymerisation of olefin monomers capable of the improving performance of the catalyst component for example in terms of increasing the activity of the catalyst.
It is an further object of the present invention to provide a first additive component for use in catalyst compositions for the polymerisation of olefin monomers capable of improving the quality of the produced polyolefin polymer for example in terms of the molecular weight.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a first additive component for used in catalyst compositions capable of increasing the catalyst composition lifetime during polymerisation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a first additive component capable of interacting with other components of the catalyst composition in a synergistic manner.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process of polymerising olefin monomers using the first additive component of the present invention.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for making the first additive component of the present invention.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for pre-treating the first additive component of the present invention.